Victims of aviation accidents to get 6 times higher compensation

The cabinet today approved in principle an act, according to which victims of any civil aviation accidents would receive minimum $1.60 lakh.

Earlier, victims used to receive $25,000, six times less than what they should have got.

The cabinet approved the Civil Aviation (Montreal Convention 1999) Act-2019 in principle, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told reporters today.

The new law will ensure the rights and security of the Bangladeshi passengers who travel to international destinations, he said after the cabinet meeting at the Secretariat.

With the new law, Bangladesh would ratify the Montreal Convention 1999.

In 1999, the Montreal Convention was modified to protect passengers right, setting the minimum compensation limit at $75,000 even if an accident occurred as a result of “willful neglect” of the carrier.’

Bangladesh signed the Montreal Convention in May 1999 but did not ratify it.

As a result, the passengers were given less compensation than they could claim as per the convention.

After the US-Bangla plane crash in Nepal, the Bangladeshi passengers who were victims of the accident received Tk 10 lakh ($12,000) as compensation, although they should have received Tk 1.40 crore as compensation, the cabinet secretary said. 

As per the new act, victims could claim up to $1.6 lakh from airlines in addition to the sum insured against them by the company, he said.

In the first step, the passengers could claim $1.60 lakh, and later in the second step the person could claim another $2.54 lakh as compensation, the cabinet secretary said.

In case of any civil aviation accidents, international carriers go by two conventions -- Warsaw Convention and Montreal Convention.

Currently, passengers receive $25,000 from claims of compensation under the Warsaw Convention 1955. Bangladesh was a signatory of the Warsaw Convention.